Amanda Haynes

Relational Discourses: Social Ties with Family and Friends

This article presents quantitative and qualitative accounts of relational discourses in a random sample of approximately 4100 texts written by Irish young people (aged 10-12 and 14-17 years). The existence of such discourses is indicated by references to family and friends. The article shows that although the majority refer to such ties in their texts, less than one-third mention best friends. It also shows that references to such relational discourses were affected by age and gender. A continuum of relatedness can be identified: with 10- to 12-year-old girls at one end of the continuum and 14- to 17-year-old boys at the other end. The implications of such trends are briefly discussed.

A Clash of Racializations: The Policing of ‘Race’ and of Anti-Muslim Racism in Ireland

National manifestations of anti-Muslim racism reflect both transnational and local self-imaginings and relations of power. In this article, Carr and Haynes present Irish anti-Muslim racism as exemplifying the confluence of such forces. They argue that Muslims are caught in a clash of racializations; in this instance, between exclusionary Irishness and racialized Muslimness. Both operate to expose Muslims to racist activity while concomitantly excluding them from the protection of the State. Carr and Haynes argue that the State’s failure to tackle anti-Muslim racism is part of a wider dismantling of the apparatus to address racism, which reflects both the neoliberalization of ‘race’ and the racing of neoliberalism. In support of these arguments, Carr and Haynes present extensive primary data which evidences the complex intersectional relationship between religion, ‘race’, ethnicity and gender in the lived experience of anti-Muslim racism and underline its existence as a cohesive phenomenon.

Effects of world class manufacturing on shop floor workers

Concerns the effects of world class manufacturing on the quality of working life of shop floor workers. Theoretically, it is grounded in the conflict between two opposing paradigms – the flexible specialisation thesis and labour process theory. Methodologically, it is based on qualitative data gathered in 1996 during in‐depth interviews with employees of a West of Ireland factory established in the use of world class manufacturing methods (fieldwork for a Masters degree minor dissertation). The results of the research indicate that the majority of world class manufacturing methods increase the intensity of work, without yielding proportionate compensation for workers. Based on these findings, the interpretation of world class manufacturing supported by labour process theory was found to be far more accurate a rendering than that promoted by the flexible specialisation thesis.

‘Why bother seeing the world for real?’: Google Street View and the representation of a stigmatised neighbourhood

We examine how an Irish stigmatised neighbourhood is represented by Google Street View. In spite of Google’s claims that Street View allows for ‘a virtual reflection of the real world to enable armchair exploration’ (McClendon, 2010). We show how it is directly implicated in the politics of representations. We focus on the manner in which Street View has contributed to the stigmatisation of a marginalised neighbourhood. Methodologically, we adopt a rhetorical/structuralist analysis of the images of Moyross present on Street View. While Google has said the omissions were ‘for operational reasons’, we argue that a wider social and ideological context may have influenced Google’s decision to exclude Moyross. We examine the opportunities available for contesting such representations, which have significance for the immediate and long-term future of the estate, given the necessity to attract businesses into Moyross as part of the ongoing economic aspect of the regeneration of this area.

Tarring everyone with the same shorthand? Journalists, stigmatization and social exclusion

This article investigates the role of journalists in the media construction of a socially excluded and stigmatized local authority housing estate. We seek to identify the ways in which the production context of ‘newsmaking’ is reflected in such content. Having outlined the problematic ways in which the estate in question is portrayed, we argue that an increasingly competitive commercial environment – best evidenced in the marketization of news – is increasing pressures on journalists to prioritize circulation figures and audience ratings over journalistic balance. Our analysis of this issue is guided by two interconnected and over-arching theoretical approaches, namely social exclusion and political economy. Our analysis is situated squarely in the context of recent debates concerning the social and political implications of the increased marketization of news. In reasserting the importance of a critical sociology of journalism, our case raises fundamental questions about the practice of journalism and how complex issues such as social exclusion and poverty are represented in a media setting.

Welfare Provision in Boom Times: Strengthening Social Equity in Ireland?

The rapid development of the Irish economy in the 1990s has provided substantial scope and possibilities for radical change. During this period the Irish economy has experienced high growth rates, expanding employment and low levels of unemployment. This paper evaluates the trend in welfare provision and social outcomes for this period. Although the Irish social welfare system has become more generous in the areas of health, education and direct social welfare benefits, it remains closer to a residual than a universal system. We conclude that there is little evidence in the Irish case yet to support any substantive trend toward a more socially equitable system.

Reasonable People vs. The Sinister Fringe

ABSTRACT Resistance to austerity in Ireland has until recently been largely muted. In 2013 domestic water charges were introduced and throughout 2014 a series of protests against the charges emerged, culminating in over 90 separate marches on November 1. In this paper we examine the discourses which are produced and circulated by politicians and the mainstream media about this protest movement, and offer a brief insight into the contemporary Irish context of austerity and crisis. We analyse the role of the phrase ‘sinister fringe’ as a discursive device, and unpick the ways in which it has been used to explain the water charges protests to the Irish public. Our conclusions speak to the currency of the protest paradigm as a means of understanding news media reporting of protest. Ultimately we raise concerns regarding the effects of this dominant frame on deliberative democracy.

Young people’s ideas about time and space

Suggesting that a focus on young people can be regarded as a kind of litmus test of the cultural processes operating in a society, this article looks at their ideas about time and space in the context of exploring the extent to which Ireland is a post/late modern society. Drawing on a stratified one in ten random sample of approximately 34,000 texts written by 10–12 year olds and 15–17 year olds, the article explores the importance and meaning of the local, ideas about time (including generational positioning), adult concepts of time, spatial time, and ideas about the future. The method of analysis is both quantitative and qualitative, with variation being explored in terms of gender and age.

Exploring the "Learning Careers" of Irish Undergraduate Sociology Students through the Establishment of an Undergraduate Sociology Student Journal

In 2009, a faculty-reviewed student undergraduate journal titled Socheolas: The Limerick Student Journal of Sociology was officially launched. The journal, now in its fourth volume, is produced, edited, and managed by a small team from within the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick in Ireland. The objective of this student journal is to allow undergraduate sociology students to have firsthand experience of the process of editing and rewriting for publication in a supportive and constructive environment. However, an evaluation of the journal’s editorial and review practices involving previous student contributors to the journal revealed the different challenges and obstacles—emotional, cognitive, as well as social—that hallmarked their progression from being consumers of sociological knowledge (as students) to being producers of sociological knowledge (as writers). The authors discuss these challenges with a view to developing an insight into the “learning careers” of some undergraduate sociology students in Ireland.

In Support of Disciplinarity in Teaching Sociology: Reflections from Ireland.

This article argues for the importance of disciplinarity in the education of novice sociologists and considers the impact of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) on opportunities for undergraduate students to achieve a command of the discipline. The promotion of modularization and generic skills integral to establishing the EHEA can be understood as incrementally undermining disciplinarity. Moreover, values enshrined in the EHEA specifically disadvantage sociological disciplinarity by promoting service to the market over mastery of a discipline. This article presents the Republic of Ireland as an example of a national context in which sociology is most commonly taught within multidisciplinary degree programs and argues that the Irish experience may be portentous of more global trends, linking the structural position of sociology in Ireland to the wider European policy context. Finally, the article explores ways in which sociologists teaching in such contexts can nonetheless promote disciplinarity.